Instrument for purifying sounds through sympathetic vibration

ABSTRACT

A very carefully tuned stringed instrument is provided with a range preferably approximating that of a piano. The strings are disposed in the path of ambient sound waves, such as music, and function to purify or eliminate those components of the sound which are not attuned to one or more of the instrument strings. A microphone may be utilized to pick up the purified sound and, in one embodiment, a portion of the apparatus constituting the purifier is disposed on one side of a soundproof wall such that the microphones which pick up the purified sound are not subjected to the sound source. In a variant embodiment, a chromatic set of tuning forks may be utilized in conjunction with the strings to assist both in tuning the instrument and in carrying out the purification process. An instrument in which a complete set of tuning forks or other tuned elements are used in place of or in combination with strings is also contemplated, the inventive concept being the purifying nature of the closely tuned vibratory elements responding sympathetically to the ambient sound.

[451 Oct. 10, 1972 Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson Assistant ExaminerJohn F. Gonzales Attomey-Drummond & Phillips ABSTRACT A very carefully tuned stringed instrument is provided with a range preferably approximating that of a piano. The strings are disposed in the path of ambient sound waves, such as music, and function to purify or eliminate those components of the sound which are not attuned to one or more of the instrument strings. A microphone may be utilized to pick up the purified sound and, in one embodiment, a portion of the apparatus constituting the purifier is disposed on one side of a soundproof wall such that the microphones which pick up the purified sound are not subjected to the sound source. In a variant embodiment, a chromatic set of tuning forks may be utilized in conjunction with the strings to assist both in tuning the instrument and in carrying out the purification process. An instrument in which a complete set of tuning forks or other tuned elements are used in place of or in combination with strings is also contemplated, the inventive concept being the purifying nature of the closely tuned vibratory elements responding sympathetically to the ambient sound.

1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures 4527 North G lOh 3/00 a. .e3.nm.33 9.33.shade-3333".33534333322333 .m. t

O United States Patent Kaminsky [54] INSTRUMENT FOR PURIFYING SOUNDS THROUGH SYMPATI-[ETIC VIBRATION [72] Inventor: Abraham R. Kaminsky,

74th Place, Scottsdale, Ariz. 85252 [22] Filed: May 12, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 142,678

[52] U.S. Cl. .......................84l173, 84/].05, 84/294,

[51] Int. Cl..........Gl0d U00, GlOd 3/02 [58] Fleld of Search..........................84/l.04-l.06, 1,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 563,113 6/1896 Wollenhaupt..............

3,549,775 12/1970 Kaminsky..................

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS- 202,7S6 8/l923 Great Britain.............

PATENTED B I 3.696, 698

sum 1 0F 2 5 IIE-l T;; INVENTOR.

ABRAHAM R KAMINSKY PATENTED 10 I972 3.696.698

INVENTOR.

ABRAHAM R KAMINSKY bum/NA) Wm ATTORNEYS INSTRUMENT FOR PURIFYING SOUNDS THROUGH SYMPATHETIC VIBRATION This invention relates to musical instruments and, more particularly, to an instrument which responds sympathetically to ambient sound rather than being directly actuated by striking, plucking, etc.

When tones are originated in string instruments, as in guitars, for example, the strings are plucked by the performer which produces, at the first split instant, sound waves which are characterized by a sharp leading edge followed by more or less rapid damping according to the instrument and whether or not it has a soundboard. As another example, the hammers of a piano produce the same general sort of damped wave, and the same may be said of all instruments, stringed and otherwise, which are, directly or indirectly, manually played.

n the other hand, l have found that when strings resonate without percussion (which brings about the sharp leading edge of the tone); that is, without the pressure in movement of the violin bow over the strings, without the striking of the hammer of the piano or the plucking of the strings of the guitar, but only through sympathetic response, then the only factors which block absolute purity of tone is the material from which the strings are made and the frame to which the strings are attached, assuming, of course, that the contemplated instrument is perfectly tuned. l have further discovered that an instrument, stringed or otherwise, which is specifically prepared to function only by sympathetic response has the property of purifying the ambient sounds or music to which it is exposed and, with a suitable arrangement, the impure sounds in the original source material will either be eliminated or purified according to their degree of impurity.

Thus, it is a broad object of my invention to provide novel sound purifying apparatus.

It is another object of my invention to provide apparatus having a plurality of closely tuned resonant elements for responding sympathetically to ambient sounds.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide means in conjunction with such apparatus for segregating impure source material from purified sounds.

The subject matter of the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing of which:

FIG. 1 is a representation of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention illustrating one manner in which the sound purifying apparatus may be subjected to ambient sound in a concentrated manner;

FIG. 2 illustrates the sound purifying apparatus of FIG. 1 as it may be used in conjunction with a soundproof wall to isolate the impure source sound from the purified sound and also illustrates the concept of incorporating a chromatic set of non-stringed resonant elements, such as tuning forks, into the apparatus; and

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway view illustrating in more detail the construction of the framework of the sound purifying apparatus of HO. 1.

Referring now to FIG. I, the sound purifying apparatus in one preferred embodiment is indicated generally at l and is observed to consist of a sturdy framework 2, having a crossbrace 3 for rigidity, the framework 2 assuming a generally triangular configuration. A plurality of strings 4, which may cover as little as one chromatic octave and may ideally encompass the chromatic range of the piano or extend even further, are strung across the framework 2 with the lower tones being disposed at the broader base of the triangle in the obvious manner, each successive string moving upwardly constituting a half-tone. The strings are tuned by individual keys 5 very accurately, preferably with a stroboscope in order to assure that each string is vibrating in the fundamental mode. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the keys 5 can be replaced with string tightening apparatus similar to that utilized in a piano and pulled into tune by means of an ordinary tuning hammer. The latter arrangement is preferable for instruments of such size that the tension exceeds that which can be easily set by means of the illustrated keys 5.

As will be more fully described below, the sound purifier may be subjected to ambient sound by placing it proximate to an actual performer or by directing sound from a recorded source, represented by the speaker 6 in FIG. 1. Similarly, the purified sound may be audited directly or may be intercepted and rerecorded as represented by the microphone 7 illustrated in FIG. 1. Assuming merely for purposes of illustration that the speaker 6 and the microphone 7 are utilized, the music issuing from the speaker 6 is directed through the purifier 1 toward the microphone 7. However, any components of the source material which do not cause one or more of the strings 4 to resonate sympathetically will be greatly diminished, and any components of the source material which are nearly, but not quite pure, will cause the corresponding string or strings to vibrate in the absolutely pure mode (assuming proper tuning) thus effectively pulling these impure sounds into perfect harmony with the pure tones provided by the other sympathetically vibrating strings. The effect is functional across the range because of harmonic, sympathetic vibration; however, the effect can be limited to selected octaves within the range by suitable damping means similar to that of the piano.

With the arrangement disclosed generally in FIG. 1, those skilled in the art will understand that, while the purification process is effective, nonetheless, a certain amount of the unpurified source material from the speaker 6 will impinge upon the microphone 7. In order to overcome this effect, when its magnitude becomes obtrusive, the general arrangement depicted in FIG. 2 is utilized. Referring to FIG. 2, it will be observed that the purifier 1 extends across a soundproof wall 10 with as little clearance as possible. Preferably, holes are drilled in the soundproof wall through which the individual strings may pass to isolate, sonically, one side from the other to the maximum possible extent. The speakers 6, which, of course, are only exemplary of a source of sound, are directed toward the purifier l to bring about the previously described controlled sympathetic vibration of the strings 4. Thus, the strings 4 are vibrating only in the pure mode, and this pure sympathetic vibration is carried out along the length of the various strings such that it can be detected on the opposite side of the soundproof wall 10 by means of the sensitive microphones 7 which, of course, simply represent an auditing device which could as well be a listener. By means of the arrangement depicted in FIG. 2, it will be understood that the impure sounds from the source material are simply unavailable to a pick up or auditor on the opposite side of the soundproof wall and thus only the pure tones are preserved with no contribution whatever from the source.

l have further observed that other resonant elements, such as tuning forks, exhibit desirable sympathetic response in much the same manner as sharply and aecurately tuned strings and therefore contemplate the utilization of a set of non-stringed resonant elements, such as tuning forks l l, incorporated into the purifying apparatus 1, preferably in cloe proximity to the microphones 7 because of the delicate nature of the forks sympathetic response. A more readily portable instrument may be achieved by using only tuning forks rather than tuned strings or by a combination of tuned strings and tuning forks, and such an arrangement has the further virtue of requiring no tuning although it is difficult to secure the broad range of response which the instrument should provide utilizing tuning forks only.

With respect to the material utilized, 1 presently prefer to use strings in the upper register which are made of nylon and complete the range with strings which are made of steel. The presently preferred configuration of the framework is illustrated in the partially cutaway view of HO. 3. Laminated birch boards are overlayed with sheet steel 16 which is finished with a layer of latex paint 17 to provide a pleasing appearance. Birch is preferred for its physical characteristics, and the sheet steel 16 provides additional rigidity for withstanding the very substantial compressive forces exerted by the cumulative tensioning of the strings 4.

It will be understood, particularly by those skilled in the art, that the triangular configuration of the purifier l is merely exemplary and that the strings can be fixed to a frame of virtually any shape which provides sufficient variety to accommodate the various string lengths. The strings may be overlapped and, as in the common piano configuration, may be doubled or tripled in certain registers. With such multiple unit arrangements, a mutual resonating effect between the units achieves a still more advanced degree of purification. Further, as previously noted, the use of nonstringed resonating elements for achieving the purifying effect is contemplated. By way of example, one may use a series of tuned brass slivers for the achievement of a brassier brassy sound where the tones to be purified originate with brass instruments. Similarly, one may use a series of tuned diaphragms to respond to vocal renditions and to drum music, or, with tones originating from woodwind instruments, a tuned series of plastic slivers similar to reeds have been utilized. The fundamental principal is that of sympathetic response for the purpose of achieving purity of tone.

While the principles of the invention have now been made clear in an illustrative embodiment. there will be immediately obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, the elements, materials, and components, used in the practice of the invention which are particularly adapted for specific environments and operating repuirements without departing from those principles.

claim:

1. An instrument for purifying sound from a source through sympathetic vibrations comprising: a plurality of accurately tuned resonant elements tuned to a corresponding plurality of adjacent half tones constituting at least one chromatic octave, said tuned resonant elements being disposed to intercept the sound from said source whereby components of the sound attuned to at least one of said resonant elements cause the corresponding elements to vibrate sympathetically and components of the sound attuned to none of said resonant elements cause no sympathetic vibrations, at least a portion of said resonant elements consisting of tuned strings stretched across a framework, each of said tuned strings being partially disposed on first and second sides, respectively, of a soundproof wall whereby the sound from the source is isolated on said first side of said wall such that only the sympathetic response of said instrument produces sound on said second side of said wall.

# i i i 

1. An instrument for purifying sound from a source through sympathetic vibrations comprising: a plurality of accurately tuned resonant elements tuned to a correSponding plurality of adjacent half tones constituting at least one chromatic octave, said tuned resonant elements being disposed to intercept the sound from said source whereby components of the sound attuned to at least one of said resonant elements cause the corresponding elements to vibrate sympathetically and components of the sound attuned to none of said resonant elements cause no sympathetic vibrations, at least a portion of said resonant elements consisting of tuned strings stretched across a framework, each of said tuned strings being partially disposed on first and second sides, respectively, of a soundproof wall whereby the sound from the source is isolated on said first side of said wall such that only the sympathetic response of said instrument produces sound on said second side of said wall. 